Those Who Have Fallen Prey

Abstract

Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey is somewhat unique amongst science fiction films in its commitment to tell an Indigenous story with an Indigenous protagonist and Indigenous characters. As such, it presents its narrative without being fully encumbered by a settler lens in demonstrating its primary theme of colonialism and its nuanced metaphor for climate destruction as a consequence of that theme. However, the analysis of these aspects of Prey’s narrative must be explored with a critical lens, especially considering its development by settler co-writers and its reliance on an existing canon with a fundamentally colonial subtext. Still, the commitment by the heads of production to provide a narrative authentic in its representation of Comanche peoples is as laudable as it is flawed. Its period depiction certainly asserts that there is an inherency in colonialism to be antagonistic towards those that respect and know their own homes.